First time.... The plan.

[theron.hall]

I've never really brewed before. I made kombucha for a while but that was way easier.
I bought a bottle of mead to try and I enjoyed it, so I figured rather than brew beer like almost everyone I know, I thought I'd try my hand at mead.
I researched it alot via Youtube and Google, and I ordered a 1 gallon kit to make blueberry melomel.
I figured 1 gallon was best since if I did a terrible job it wouldn't be as large a waste.
Plus I could do several different 1 gallon brews simultaneously.
I ordered my tools and supplies from adventures in home brewing. It is supposed to come with instructions as well.
Has anyone on here tried this kit or any others from this source with success? I'd love to hear any advice or experience with them to prepare myself for the brewing I intend to start next weekend.
How long should a brew like this take to be ready for consumption?

Thanks,
T

 

[clay932]

After about a month it will be alcoholic and you could drink it but it really needs to be racked and let sit for around 4-6 months before it taste good, as for the experimenting you can really do anything that sounds good to you

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi theron .hall and welcome.
Have never made mead from a kit. It's not like making grape wine where you need a large volume of varietal juiced grapes to make a wine. You can use just about any store bought honey (as long as it is truly made of 100 % honey and not sugar water with caramel coloring). The one exception I would make is buckwheat honey. On the east coast this variety of honey is very earthy and IMO does not make a very pleasant mead. But clover, wildflower, orange blossom, acacia, American bamboo, apple, raspberry, Tupelo, among, many, many, many honeys all make delicious mead - either as traditionals (just the honey) or as melomels (with added fruit) or as metheglyns (with added herbs or spices).

But that said, mead is honey, water, yeast and nutrient (for the yeast). 1.5 lbs of honey dissolved in spring water (not reverse osmosis or distilled: you want the minerals in the water) to make 1 US gallon will give you a starting gravity of about 1.050 and that has a potential ABV of about 6-7% (if fermented dry). Three pounds of honey dissolved to make the same volume as the first example (1 US gallon - so using less water) will give you a starting gravity of about 1.105 or about 14% ABV when all done fermenting. Both will take about two to three weeks for the yeast to eat up all the sugar but it is always best to check the gravity with an hydrometer to know what the yeast is in fact doing - the fermentation can be done in three days (if the temperature is too high) or three months or longer if you don't provide sufficient and appropriate nutrients.

You could use a rule of thumb that goes something like - allow the mead to age after fermentation has ceased 1 month for every % alcohol by volume (ABV). But if you are making mead from a kit I would imagine (I know, I know: a HUGE assumption) that the instructions will hold your hand and provide you with all the key information you need to know.
But making mead is really not difficult. Making good mead is a bit harder and it might involve you doing more than viewing a few Youtube videos and reading a few self-published posts via Google. I would look for a book or two that was trade published and so has gone through fact checking, and an expectation that any recipes provided have been tested numerous times...

Good luck

 

[theron.hall]

Hi theron .hall and welcome.
Have never made mead from a kit. It's not like making grape wine where you need a large volume of varietal juiced grapes to make a wine. You can use just about any store bought honey (as long as it is truly made of 100 % honey and not sugar water with caramel coloring). The one exception I would make is buckwheat honey. On the east coast this variety of honey is very earthy and IMO does not make a very pleasant mead. But clover, wildflower, orange blossom, acacia, American bamboo, apple, raspberry, Tupelo, among, many, many, many honeys all make delicious mead - either as traditionals (just the honey) or as melomels (with added fruit) or as metheglyns (with added herbs or spices).

But that said, mead is honey, water, yeast and nutrient (for the yeast). 1.5 lbs of honey dissolved in spring water (not reverse osmosis or distilled: you want the minerals in the water) to make 1 US gallon will give you a starting gravity of about 1.050 and that has a potential ABV of about 6-7% (if fermented dry). Three pounds of honey dissolved to make the same volume as the first example (1 US gallon - so using less water) will give you a starting gravity of about 1.105 or about 14% ABV when all done fermenting. Both will take about two to three weeks for the yeast to eat up all the sugar but it is always best to check the gravity with an hydrometer to know what the yeast is in fact doing - the fermentation can be done in three days (if the temperature is too high) or three months or longer if you don't provide sufficient and appropriate nutrients.

You could use a rule of thumb that goes something like - allow the mead to age after fermentation has ceased 1 month for every % alcohol by volume (ABV). But if you are making mead from a kit I would imagine (I know, I know: a HUGE assumption) that the instructions will hold your hand and provide you with all the key information you need to know.
But making mead is really not difficult. Making good mead is a bit harder and it might involve you doing more than viewing a few Youtube videos and reading a few self-published posts via Google. I would look for a book or two that was trade published and so has gone through fact checking, and an expectation that any recipes provided have been tested numerous times...

Good luck

Thank you! That was a fantastic explanation. I read one book already I bought on my kindle and another is on its way with my kit.
I love to read and research so I'm as well educated as possible before I attempt much of anything.

Thanks,
T

 

[theron.hall]

I received my kit today. I made an error however and got the ingredients for a traditional mead, not a melomel.
I guess I'll be visiting the freezer section at the grocery store.

I have 4 lbs of honey for this one gallon concoction any suggestions how many pounds of blueberries I should add? View attachment 20181030_224233.jpeg

 

[theron.hall]

I'm so darn indecisive....
I went to the grocery store to get 3 lbs of blueberries to use for my melomel, and I saw cider at the door.
I've been thinking how awesome a cyser would be.... So I bought that, with some cinnamon sticks and whole cloves to brew a cyser. And for good measure I still bought frozen berries but it was a 3lbs bag mix of blueberries raspberries and blackberries. I also price checked the honey for another batch.

The problem is I want to brew everything!

I'm fortunate in that a friend who gave up brewing offered me a few 1 gallon carboys and bottles. I'm like a kid with five bucks let loose in a penny candy store. Just don't know where I'm going to start. Lol.

It's a good problem to have I guess. [emoji16]

 

[bernardsmith]

OK - Supermarket bought apple juice (sweet cider) is often - not always but often - preserved with sorbates and sorbates are added to inhibit fermentation. You always need to check - double check - to see if the list of ingredients refers to preservatives and if they do, do those include sorbate. If they do then you know that that apple juice will not ferment.

What you really want is juice that has been UV pasteurized. That kills any indigenous yeast, bacteria and pathogens (if apples are "harvested" from the ground (dropsies) and animals have wandered on the property then e-coli is a risk as is listeria. Orchards tend to UV pasteurize their apple juice (at least they do here in upstate NY) so pasteurization is an alternative method of inhibiting fermentation but it does not do anything to stop fermentation when you add yeast. Pasteurizing by heat cooks the apples and cooked apples don't make good cider or wine. Pasteurization by light (UV) is not a problem. But to repeat, supermarket bought apple juice tends to be sorbated and sorbates will not allow your yeast to ferment the juice...

 

[theron.hall]

There was nothing but Apple juice listed add an ingredient.
Thank you for the great feedback!